DERBY — Federal authorities searching for the source of weapons used in a Border Patrol agent’s killing have identified a suspect who owns land in Derby.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is currently seeking information about firearms purchases by Michelle J. Zajko, 32, who they believe supplied the weapons used in the January 20 shooting death of Agent David “Chris” Maland in Coventry.
Zajko purchased a half-acre plot on Bates Hill Road in Derby in 2021, according to town records. Zajko has a listed address in Orleans, according to documents obtained by the Albany Times-Union and town records reviewed by The Associated Press.
Law enforcement officials say Zajko may be driving a green 2013 Subaru Outback with an expired Vermont registration.
Zajko, considered armed and dangerous by authorities, is also a person of interest in the 2023 murder of her parents in Pennsylvania and has ties to Boston, according to police records.
“ATF is asking for your assistance in identifying any firearms purchases made by Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, a person of interest in the shooting of a Customs and Border Protection Officer,” the agency said in a bulletin to gun dealers.
The Albany Times-Union reported that Zajko purchased two handguns — a .40-caliber and a .380-caliber semiautomatic — at a Mount Tabor gun shop in February.
These weapons were recovered at the scene where Maland was shot.